JUDGMENT
N.C. Kochhar, J.
1. Since the facts of this writ petition filed on 15.11.1988 and the facts of SB Civil Writ Petition No. 1384 of 1989 “Vijay Kumar v. Chief Engineer, Public Health & Engineering Department & Others” (the other writ petition) filed on 12.12.1988 are same and the reply has been filed in this writ petition, both these writ petitions are being disposed of together by mentioning the facts of this writ petition only.
2. The case set up by the petitioners is that on the requisition having been received from the respondent No. 3- Superintending Engineer, PHED vide letter dated 11.6.84 (Annx.1), the Employment Exchange, Bharatpur had forwarded the names of 52 persons from genera] category and 20 persons from reserved category for making appointments on 4 posts of Store Munshies and the candidates so forwarded were interviewed by a selection committee on 10.7.1984 and the petitioners were declared successful for being appointed on the posts of Store Munshies, but, to their, surprise, they received letter dated 12.7.1984 issued by the respondent No. 3 appointing all of them as Work Charge Helpers Gr.II in the pay scale of Rs. 360-5-450-10-460 and that, they having no option, joined on the posts of Helper Gr. II in the lower pay scale, but, thereafter, made representations complaining that they ought to have been appointed as Store Munshies and had learnt that under the directions of respondent No. 2 Additional Chief Engineer (Head quarter), PHED, Jaipur, the respondent No. 3 had appointed them as work charge Helpers Gr.II. They further contended that while their representations were pending, the respondent No. 3 appointed 5 persons in Bharatpur Circle as Store Munshies vide orders dated 11.5.1988 and 4.7.1988 (Annx. 3 and Annx. 4 respectively), ignoring the just claims of the petitioners and, thereafter, the petitioners sent notices of demand of justice for seeking redressal of their grievances (Annx.5 and Annx.6), but needful was not done. The petitioners have contended that they having been interviewed for the posts of Store Munshies were entitled to be appointed to the said posts and their appointment to the posts of Helper Gr. II was wrongful and have prayed that they be directed to be appointed to the posts of Store Munshies from the date of their joining. It has also been pleaded that the petitioners had been continuously working on the posts of Store Munshies and were discharging his same duties as were being discharged by the regularly appointed Store Munshies since the dated of their appointments and have prayed that the respondents be also directed to pay the regular pay scale of the post of Store Munshi to the petitioners with effect from the date of their joining the duties.
3. The writ petitions have been opposed by the respondents. In reply. It has been contended that although the Employment Exchange had sponsored the names of the petitioners for the posts of Store Munshies, before the Interview could be held, telephonic instructions were received from the respondent No. 2 for selecting the persons for being appointed as Helpers Gr. II and, as such, the petitioners, to their knowledge, were interviewed for the said posts and were appointed to the said posts, which they joined without any protest. It has also been pleaded that the petitioners never made any representation. It has been stated that five persons were made semi-permanent as Store Munshies as they were working as such for the required period and the petitioners having never been promoted or appointed as Store Munshies could not complain against the same. The allegations of the petitioners that they had been working on the posts of Store Munshies since the time that they joined their duties have been denied and it has been stated that they had been working only on the posts of Helpers Gr.II.
4. I have heard the learned Counsel for the parties and have also perused the record of the case.
5. As is apparent from Annexure-1 and as is the case of the petitioners, the requisition was sent by the respondents to the Employment Exchange for forwarding the names of suitable persons for being appointed on 4 posts of Store Munshies. Annexures-2 and 2-A are the two office orders dated 12.7.1984. Vide the former office order, the petitioners No. 1 to 3 of this writ petition and petitioner-Vijay Kumar of the other writ petition were appointed as Helpers Gr.II on officiating basis for a period of six months subject to their producing the character certificates from two respectable persons besides medical certificates of their fitness and also subject to their taking charge of the posts within 15 days therefrom and, vide the latter office order, the petitioner No. 4 of this writ petition besides 4 other persons (not parties to either of the two writ petitions) were appointed to the posts of Helpers Gr.II subject to the terms and conditions mentioned above, and they joined accordingly on the basis of Annexures-2 and 2-A. This shows that after taking the. copies of the appointment letters, the petitioners got themselves medically examined, obtained the medical certificates of their fitness besides character certificates from two respectable persons and then joined their duties on the posts of Helpers Gr.II. The case set up by the petitioners that they had protested and had made representations complaining that they were interviewed for the posts of Store Munshies and ought to have been appointed against the said posts, has been controverted by the respondents, according to whom, before the interview, they knew that they were being interviewed for the posts of Helpers Gr.II and they never made any representations before sending the notices in the year 1988. No copy of any representation or other documents has been produced on record to support the case that the petitioners ever made any leprescntations against their appointments to the posts of Helpers Gr.II. It is the case of the petitioners themselves that they sent the notices of demand of justice on the five persons being appointed to the posts of Store Munshies. As noted above, Anhexure-1 shows that the requisition was sent to the Employment Exchange for filling in 4 posts of Store Munshies, whereas, Annexures-2 and 2-A show that appointments were given to 9 persons including the 5 petitioners to the posts of Helpers Gr.II. This fact when considered along with the conduct of the petitioners, who not only joined the posts of Helpers Gr. II but also continued to work on the said posts without making any representation till other persons were appointed on the posts of Store Munshies in the year 1988, supports the case of the respondents that the petitioners, to their knowledge, were Interviewed for the posts of Helpers Gr. II and were appointed as such.
6. Even assuming that the petitioners were Interviewed for the posts of Store Munshies, no other persons having been appointed on the posts of Store Munshies at the relevant time, the petitioners acquired no right to be appointed to the said posts which were not filled in by the respondents, if the petitioners felt aggrieved for not being appointed to the posts of Store Munshies, they could have declined to join on the posts of Helpers Gr.II. In this view of the matter, no right of the petitioners has been affected, which they can agitated in these writ petitions.
7. Although, it is not a direction, but it is expected that the respondents would consider the cases of all the five petitioners sympathetically after taking into consideration the circumstances leading to their joining to the posts of Helpers Gr.II, and would give them suitable appointments to the posts of Store Munshies or other posts higher than the posts of Helpers Gr.II in accordance with the rules.
8. In regard to the claim of the petitioners for a direction to the respondents to pay them the same salary as is being paid to the regularly appointed Store Munshies, it has to be stated that since the respondents have denied that the petitioners has been working on the posts of Store Munshies and had been discharging same duties as were being discharged by the regularly appointed Store Munshies, this question being a disputed question of fact, cannot be gone into in these writ proceedings, but it is made clear that if the petitioners have discharged the same duties as the regularly appointed Store Munshies had been discharging, they are entitled to receive the salaries in the minimum of the scale of Store Munshi for the period for which they actually discharged such duties. The respondents should, therefore, look into the matter and, if the petitioners have performed the duties of Store Munshies for any length of period, they should be paid the salary of the posts of Store Munshies in the minimum of the scale of Store Munshi and the arrears of salary, if any, should be paid to them within a period of two months from today, failing which, the petitioners would be free to file applications under section 33C(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act for claiming such arrears and the learned Labour Court, before whom such applications are made, would go into the question about the performance of the duties of Store Munshies by the petitioners and would grant them the arrears for the period for which they actually performed such duties.
9. With the above said observations and while recgonising the petitioners’ abovesaid right to get the salary, if any, of the posts of Store Munshies, these writ petitions are dismissed, but leaving the parties to bear their own costs.